Lian Li Announces the Brushed Aluminum PC-Q26 Mini-ITX Chassis

[btarunr]

Lian-Li Industrial Co. Ltd, today announces the brushed aluminum PC-Q26 mini-ITX chassis. Ideal for users who want to build their own NAS as well as system integrators, with its support of up to ten 3.5" drives, the PC-Q26 packs a lot of storage in a compact package. With a volume around 32.3L, the PC-Q26 supports a vast amount of storage for its size. Up to eleven hard drives can be installed: ten 3.5" and one 2.5" drive. A hot-swap backplane for two 3.5" drives is included. Additional backplanes can be easily added. With the ever-expanding storage capacity of mechanical drives, this small and lightweight aluminum chassis provides vast storage potential for the home or small office.

The PC-Q26 has pop-off side panels for simplified installations, upgrades and maintenance. Hard drives, 3.5" and 2.5", can be tool-lessly mountedwith thumbscrews with rubber suspensions. Additionally, the expansion slots are secured by a single thumbscrew. Three front 120mm fans bring cool air into the chassis through side ventilation. Filters with magnets prevent dust and debris from entering the PC-Q26. A top 120mmm exhaust fan with a removable filter pulls hot, hardware damaging air out of the chassis.



More ventilation on the rear and side panel keep this positive pressure chassis at optimal operation temperatures. An 80mm fan can be installed on the rear panel.

Hardware Compatibility
The Lian Li PC-Q26 supports expansion cards up to 190mm (7.4") and CPU coolers up to 150mm (5.9"). Power supplies up to 190mm (7.4") sit elevated off the case floor on rubberized rails.

Connectivity
The I/O panel is located on the front bezel. Connections include two USB 3.0 ports and HD audio.

Price and Availability:
The PC-Q26 is now available in North America for the suggested retail price of USD189.

Product Highlights of the PC-Q26

• Brushed aluminum chassis
• Supports Mini-ITX motherboards
• Ideal for NAS and system integrators
• Holds eleven hard drives: ten 3.5" and one 2.5" drives
• Hot-Swap backplanes for two 3.5" bays included (more available)
• Pop-off side panels
• MSRP: USD 189

For more information, visit the product page.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[techy1]

this + that Gygabyte GTX 970 m-ITX + 10 x 6TB drives ... but serioulsy - good cooling options, but I wish there would be possibility to use just 5 or 3 3,5" drives and other sapce use to something more usefull, but still this is decent case compared to other over 30liter m-ITX (that is absurd - but that is not the point here) cases that offers no cooling or HDD possibilities like this none does

 

[azdesign]

this + that Gygabyte GTX 970 m-ITX + 10 x 6TB drives ... but serioulsy - good cooling options, but I wish there would be possibility to use just 5 or 3 3,5" drives and other sapce use to something more usefull, but still this is decent case compared to other over 30liter m-ITX (that is absurd - but that is not the point here) cases that offers no cooling or HDD possibilities like this none does

Why would NAS case should have spaces for other things than HDD ? And why would a dedicated graphic card needed for NAS ? And why would you pick a "gaming" board for NAS ?

This case has too many wasted space. This is a joke compared to PC-Q25B, DS380B or Node 304. What makes this case different from other mainstream cases ? Not to mention the price tag for this shit. I fitted 12 3'5 HDD into a Source 210 (4 using converted 5'25 bays) as decent FREENAS box with decent cooling and I'm only using single expansion slot for an LSI card to connect all those 12 drives. And that is also lot of wasted space, at least I only spent $40 for that.

Seriously lian-li has too many useless new cases nowadays. Nothing looks like an "Innovation" anymore.

 

[Coldzero]

mini-itx + vga card + 10 hdd's wouldn't work.
you'd need a controller for all those drives and it would require a pci-express slot. mini-itx only have one. so it would be a question of having either one of them. vga or controller. not both.

i do agree that Lian-li is completely lost as far as new products is concerned. they don't make a single case i would use these days. bring back an updated version of the first v series (v1000, 1200 and 2000)

 

[PLAfiller]

I can't say if it's good or bad. But it's not for me and I wouldn't buy it. I basically fit all my stuff on half terabait. Let alone 12 HDD cage. It's just not my cup of tea.

 

[JBVertexx]

Yeah but mini-itx + vga card + 6 hdd's would work, which is not bad at all. So you have a case for the guy with 10-11 drives, and you also have a case for the guy who wants to have a mini-ITX gamer plus a home server/NAS in one unit.

This is a nice case. Lian-Li builds are always top quality and a pleasure to build in. Admittedly it may be somewhat of a niche, but it looks well designed and built for its purpose.

My only criticism is the fact that the drive cage is a single unit. If they had broken this up, it would make for some interesting options for this case.

 

[stinger608]

Oh great, yet another plain Jane over priced POS from Lian-Li.

 

[Disparia]

Nice. Though for my needs I went with a Lian-Li A04. Only 7 x 3.5", but mATX and a couple 5.25". More of a home server orientation than strictly NAS (tv tuner, Blu-Ray drive, etc).

 

[badtaylorx]

no, 12 hdd's and a gpu won't fit. Do you know what will though?


A 360mm radiator!!!

Where you may see useless and plane Jane, I see potential.

 

[WildChild2]

small footprint yet space for 360mm radiator for liquid cooling...has some potential!

 

[newtekie1]

They should have used SATA port multipliers, that would have been the only thing that would have made this case worth considering at that price.

I fitted 12 3'5 HDD into a Source 210

Yeah, but the Source 210 is at least twice the size of this case.

 

[Arjai]

I can think of about a 189 things I would rather do with a $189.

1. Buy a GoTo bus card that will last me 47.25 days.
.....
189. Buy a 175 $1.08, including tax, candy bars to throw off the balcony at the Mall of America.

BTW, none of the options includes buying this case and destroying it. That would be a colossal waste of time and energy!

 

[Fx]

This is a very nice case with a nice layout. The primary thing that they got wrong was the price which should have been $90-120. I love the superb cooling and hot-swap backplanes.

 

[micropage7]

personally from material, i like lian li when today many cases using plastic, too much plastic for their cases
but lian li should make any improvement like cable management friendly and support more like different layout for water cooling or longer card

 

[Patriot]

It bothers me that LianLi has still not learned how to powdercoat... and way overcharge.

 

[Liquid Cool]

I can't get over those fan cut outs for the side panel or on the back...

Since Lian Li has made their aluminum so thin and seem to be making cases for niches that don't correspond with my lifestyle(or anyone's?)...I stopped buying from them. Frankly....and I'm not trying to bash here because I like Lian Li and I used to only buy their cases....but I can't figure out what the hell they're doing anymore.

Personally...I think the world has gone screwy when I'm looking at Rosewill/Inwin cases over Lian Li and thinking, I'd like one of those instead.

Albeit my favorite case...is in my specs.

Best,

LC

 

[yannievegas]

Hey all -

Just thought I'd share some photos of a build I did in this case. She's pretty sharp.

https://forum.teksyndicate.com/t/ul...new-lian-li-q26-case-build-log-w-photos/77566